New York Times bestselling author and humorist Michael Perry returns with a new collection of bite-sized essays from his Sunday Wisconsin State Journal column, "Roughneck Grace." Perry's perspectives on everything from cleaning the chicken coop to sharing a New York City elevator with supermodels will have you snorting with laughter on one page, blinking back tears on the next, and -- no matter your zip code -- nodding in recognition throughout.

Michael Perry is a newspaper columnist and the author of numerous books including the Wisconsin Historical Society Press's From the Top: Brief Transmissions from Tent Show Radio as well Population: 485 and the New York Times bestseller Visiting Tom. His "Roughneck Grace" column has been running in the Sunday Wisconsin State Journal for nearly three years. His live humor recordings include Never Stand behind a Sneezing Cow and The Coldhopper Monologues. He lives in rural Wisconsin with his wife and daughters and is privileged to serve as a first responder with the local fire department.

Listen in as Michael Perry is interviewed about his Roughneck Grace essays by Wisconsin Public Radio host Joy Cardin (October 2016) http://www.wpr.org/listen/1005461

Michael Perry
is, of course, a treasure. His memoirs, essays, and now fiction ("The
Jesus Cow") too, all use his hard-earned perceptiveness and gift for
colorful clarity in chronicling modern midwestern life, with its messes and
chaos, yes, but its quiet reflections as well. "Roughneck
Grace" collects his newspaper columns of the same name - each a little
nugget of thoughtfulness, humor, and the occasional stumble into wisdom.
Mike mines his own incompetence (which runs "rich, wide, and
deep" according to one column), but most often you'll be reminded that
you'd be lucky to have such a decent fellow as your neighbor or friend, and
that Grace, received or given is what matters most." (John Christensen,
Arcadia Books, Spring Green,WI)

[Perry's] essays inspire a lot of collective nodding – like the first time he
saw the Packers on a flat-screen – and also many laughs. You can't help but
chuckle when he describes a yoga studio that caters to farmers or misses a deer
while hunting because he’s reading Poets & Writers. "Writing is a
privilege," Perry says, and he uses his column "as a mirror to see how I’m
measuring up." Our only grievance: These two-page stories will leave you
wanting more. (Kristine Hansen, Milwaukee Magazine, Oct. 19,
2016)

"The pieces chosen for his new essay collection, Roughneck Grace:
Farmer Yoga, Creeping Codgerism, Apple Golf and Other Brief Essays from On and
Off the Back Forty (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), serve as a
compelling reminder of Perry's subtle wit, charm and predilection for nature,
family and friends. That may sound a bit sappy, but that's okay. In a world in
which 140 characters count as "writing," Perry's thoughtful and sensitive prose
provides the authentic perspective of a 50-something man with one steel-toed
boot planted firmly in nostalgia and the other in an ever-changing
present. (Michael Popke, Isthmus, Oct. 6, 2016)

Excerpts from "Roughneck Grace"

"The title of this collection ["Roughneck Grace"] arose from the subtitle of "Visiting Tom," a book I wrote about my neighbors Tom and Arlene ... I hoped pairing those two words might convey the idea of grace -- given and received -- beyond the purview of priests or perfection. That prefect things emanate from imperfect people. Based on my own character, I better hope so, from both directions." (From the Introduction)

"In time one learns to reserve the high horse for only very special occasions involving apple-picking, and even then it's likely best left in the stable." (From "Appreciation")

"Sleeping is my single favorite hunting activity and terribly underrated as a means of attracting wildlife." (From "Home")

"Recently a real, live yogi asked my wife and me for help renaming his yoga studio. Asking a guy like me to rename your yoga studio is the rough equivalent of asking a room full of teenaged boys to come up with an advertising slogan for baked beans, but I agreed to do the best I could, which is to say we lowered the bar immediately." (From "Creeping Codgerism")